THE INDIAN MENU PLANNER

     A dear friend of mine got this book during her visit to New Delhi. She knew that of all the things that people normally buy as gifts for others - key chains, clothes, handicrafts, decorations - I would be a million times thrilled to receive a local recipe book. I fell in love with this book at the very first sight. It comes in a button pack which includes 3 sections - Tandoor & Dry Dishes, Curries & Simmering Pot, Vegetarian Dishes & Desserts. 12 celebrated chefs lend themselves amazingly well to producing this easy-to-follow recipe book of traditional Indian cuisine but with a modern twist. The first item I tried was the Tandoori Chicken and it turned out yummy and I didn't need a 'tandoor' (clay oven) after all!

SUGAR ROSES - Tombi Peck, Alan Dunn, Tony Warren

One of the best sugarcraft artists in the world is none other than Alan Dunn. To attend any of his classes would be a dream come true for me. But for now, I would have to settle for his books.

This is one of my references when making roses (as there are dozens of roses and I sometimes keep forgetting the variety that exist). And if you're into sugar flowers, especially roses, get this one. Very useful indeed. The clear instructions with photos make rose-making a fun and possible attempt for any amateur. Following are some of the pages in the book, to share.

CLASSIC DESSERTS: The Good Cook/Techniques and Recipes - The Editors of Time-Life Books

Publisher: Time-Life Books/ Alexandria, Vriginia

Year: 1980

I bought this book on e-bay, years ago. My search was for frozen dessert but I got myself intrigued by the owner's description of this book. I just had to buy this and it was not expensive at all (approximately RM40, pretty cheap I would say).

If you're looking for a dessert cookbook which deals to the very detail, then this is the one. These are classic and fine dessert, each looks delectably and creatively presented. A simple meringue can be transformed into a classy dish fit for a hotel plate. A dessert omelet stuffed with strawberries and cream could excite a king's palate. Worth to buy.

MEMORABLE RECIPES FOR MALAY OCCASIONS - Marina Mustafa

I was in the bookstore, and this book caught my attention. The cover looks pretty classic - three boys in baju melayu and a girl holding a wedding gift (hantaran). The cover is as authentically traditional as the content is. Each recipe has a story to relate to and although it concerns the writer's family, I find it pleasantly interesting because, I too can find some elements similar to my life and family. Recipes here are purely traditional Malay food, some of which I think not many people are able to prepare them anymore these days - ubi kayu bersantan, abok-abok sagu, halwa maskat, halwa sukun, biskut kana and a long list of other nostalgic recipes. Price RM88. A beautiful addition to my collection.

PRETTY PARTY CAKES - Peggy Porschen

               A pretty useful reference written by a pretty cake artist, with many stunning photos of her amazing creations and masterpieces. Hers are a mixture of classic and modern type, feminine and fancy, simple yet elegantly presented. An inspiration for any cake decorator. Unfortunately, no recipes of fondant or sugarpaste is available as she calls for the store-bought ones (saves time I guess). Price : RM68. MUST HAVE!

HOW BAKING WORKS (2nd ed) - Paula Figoni

This is a good 17-chapter reference for any self-taught baker or even a home maker. Once you understand the 'fundamentals of baking science', you might save yourself from any messy and costly cooking mishaps. Some parts are pretty technical but I would try to digest it anyway. A very useful cooking bible indeed. Cost : RM159.80

About the author : PAULA FIGONI is a food scientist and associate professor in the International Baking and Pastry Institute in the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. She also has more than ten years of experience in product development and food science at The Pillsbury Company and Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (http://www.countrybookstore.co.uk/)

100 BEST RECIPES ... CHOCOLATE - Linda Doeser

If you googled Linda Doeser, you'll see an endless list of sites displaying her books. She is a writer and editor, as well as the author of Flipcook. Amazon has more than 40 of her books, ranging from chocolate to baking to chinese cooking...an outstanding achievement indeed. This book features 6 chapters, with glossy and beautiful photos which are pretty inspiring.

THE BOOK OF CHOCOLATE - Carol Tennant

Another collection of mine..another book on chocolate...well who can resist it?...from ice cream to cookies to cakes and drinks, all in one small book.

Carol Tennant is a home economist, food writer and food stylist. She has been involved with BBB Good Food and House Beautiful and has also written several other books. This small book can easily be slipped in my handbag to work...in case I have time to test a recipe or two. Besides, most of the recipes require few ingredients so the cafe pantry may have all I need... Perhaps a dessert from this book by the end of this week?

MEALS IN MINUTES ... PASTA - The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks

Publisher : ACP Publishing Pty Limited 2001

Price : RM19.90

Every recipe in The Australian Women's Weekly cookbook series is tested before published. Not only once but 3 times. Each recipe comes with a photo, striking enough to leave you drooling. This is one of my pasta bibles. I myself would test a recipe accordingly at first attempt, without making any changes at all. If a recipe turns out well, then only I would alter it, adding or omitting any ingredients which might make it better.

Pretty organised and helpful categories:

TRADITIONAL CAKES and PUDDINGS - Ann Nicol and Hilaire Walden

    By 'traditional' I assume that the recipes are the traditional desserts in Britain... considering that the book was published there. The writers, Ann Nicol and Hilaire Walden particularly, have written numerous cookbooks other than this. Couldn't find their complete biographies online.

   What I love about this book is the striking photos and the black-and-white instructional illustrations on the sides of the pages. They are extremely helpful to provide clearer understanding of the written recipes and directions. A chapter on the basics of baking cakes and desserts covers the secrets and guides to better baking may be handy as well.

Other chapters include :

sponge and light cakes

chocolate cakes

spicy cakes

little cakes

rich and light fruit cakes

nutty cakes

microwave baking

yeast baking

icings and fillings

cake decoration

hot baked puddings

steamed puddings

fried and other puddings

pastries

cold puddings

sauces

Apparently, you will get to learn about baking a cake and decorating it using a number of mediums presented. I consider the sections on yeast baking and pastries a bonus as both are neither cakes nor puddings. Price: RM99.95 (hardcover)

THE JOY OF CHEESECAKE - Dana Bovbjerg and Jeremy Iggers

Jeremy Iggers has an impressive career background. Considering his work which focus on journalism and philosophy, it surprised me to come across his book solely on cheesecakes. Iggers has written about restaurants, food and ethics as well as a number of other books : including Good News, Bad News: Journalism Ethics and the Public Interest, The Garden of Eating: Food, Sex and the Hunger for Meaning. More information on Iggers can be found here and here. Dana Bovbjerg co-authored this book.

My first thought upon reading this book was that the write must be a renowned pastry chef. Well, obviously, you don't have to be one to be able to create such luscious dessert in creative and elegant ways.

You will find the chapters well-organized and clearly simple. Instead of having to include a section for cheesecake crust for each recipe, there is one section specifically on the crusts. You'll find 6 categories of cheesecakes - Cream cheesecakes, Specialty cheesecakes, No-bake cheesecakes, Cheese pies, Cottage-cheesecakes and Cheesecakes around the world. A short and useful description of each cheesecake is given prior to each recipe. For RM84.90, you'll get every penny's worth.

CHEESECAKE EXTRAORDINAIRE - Mary Crownover

Nothing much can be found about Crownover except that she teaches classes in cheesecake preparation and serves as a consultant to bakeries and dieticians. Wish I knew more about her.

This book begins with the description of tips, tools and equipment you need to create one of the most decadent desserts in the world...cheesecakes! With more than 100 absolutely mouthwatering cheesecake recipes, you will find it hard to decide on which to begin with. So far, Crownover's recipes are certain not to disappoint me...and each success has inspired me to bake the next one on the list. There are 12 chapters altogether:

Beverage-based cheesecakes

Candy and Cookie cheesecakes

Caramel cheesecakes

Chocolate cheesecakes

Coconut cheesecakes

Custard and spice cheesecakes

Fruit cheesecakes

Mint cheesecakes

Nut cheesecakes

Peanut butter cheesecakes

Vanilla cheesecakes

Guilt-free cheesecakes

If you're a cheesecake lover like me, you'll sure to love what this book has to offer.

101 PERFECT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES - Gwen Steege

     I marveled at the variety of chocolate chip cookies recipes in this book. They evolved from a nationwide contest held at the Orchards Inn in 1987. The search for the perfect cookies has brought in as many as thousands of contestants sending in their recipes. This book records more than a hundred best chocolate chip cookies recipes ever.

There is the classic Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip recipe to begin with (as an honour to the birth of chocolate chip cookies). The sections include 'Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies', 'Traditional Chocolate Chip Cookies Plus', 'And They're So Good For You Too' (wholesome ingredients added), 'Double Chocolate Chip Cookies', and 'Special Occasion Chocolate Chip Cookies'. 

BISCUITS, COOKIES & BROWNIES (PERIPLUS Step-by-Step)

Another book that I often use. There's a chocolate chip cookie recipe here which is a hit in the family. The content covers a few sections. First, mouthwatering classics like choclate chip, viennese fingers, florentines etc. Also a section on Family favourites - coconut macaroons, chocolate caramel slice, walnut brownies etc. Then there are scrumptious shortbread, crazy for chocolate, irresistable fruit & nut treats and sensational savouries. Over 80 recipes altogether. The price : RM24.90 which is pretty reasonable.

CHEF WAN'S SWEET TREATS

Another collection on my shelf, written by Chef Wan. A very successful qualified-accountant-turned-chef, he came into the limelight more than a decade ago on tv shows. He is an entertainer, actor, chef, celebrity and "the most flamboyant food ambassador" for the country.

What's in it? Tars & Pies, Muffins & Scones, Cheesecakes, Cookies, Bread, Cakes and Desserts. Pretty much covering all pastry items. Let's see how the recipies go. Perhaps we'll start with a cookie or two?

CLASSIC STARS DESSERT

This book is not cheap (RM113.90 is not cheap to me...) and received mostly positive reviews (which made me curious and run to the nearest store to grab the book). Published in 2007, this book covers Emily Luchetti's favourite recipes. A renowned pastry chef in Europe, she also creates mouth-watering desserts at two well renowned restaurants in the States, Farallon and Water Bar. You can check out her website in the link 'My Favourite list'.

Simple ingredients, easy-to-follow instructions. That's all I can say after going through the book. But let's see how the practical part goes, huh?

PROFESSIONAL BAKING .... & HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy new year...to myself...and to all the cooks out there...and anyone reading this. 1/2 hour more to go and it's a new calendar. My new year's resolution(s)? Got a few...

1. Read more

2. Try out more recipes

3. Invent new dishes for the cafe

4. Save more, spend less

5. Stop procrastinating

6. Be good (that covers all, I guess)

Being a cook has always been a joy to me...although it can be dirty, rigorous and sweaty at the same time. But the fascination for food I've had since a child (thanks to my mom, who happens to be one great cook and a mentor in my life) is so overwhelming that I find my day incomplete without cooking a dish or two (even during vacation, we would try to find an apartment with kitchen equipment enough to fry something and make a simple pudding-a stove and a microwave oven). I have no formal training from any renowned culinary school (Le Cordon Bleu? How I wish....) but I went for short classes and courses to equip myself with all the skills and knowledge needed to run the cafe kitchen...and self-taught as well.

When I say self-taught, I meant learning from printed recipes and professional culinary books. And not all the printed recipes and cooking guidelines out there produce real results that can make your day! That is why some books are a hit, while others are like *hit (mind my bad language but I find it really frustrating when I bought a book that fails me). The main reason for me being here is to record all the possible mistakes, failures and success in my attempt to experiment with the already printed and recorded recipes from the plethora of cookbooks in the market, internet, magazines etc. You can say that my lack of culinary skills contributes to my failure in my attempt to get the recipe done the right way, but how many people out there, who are buying cookbooks or trying out online recipes, have good cooking and culinary skills? Many women buy cookbooks because they don't have the knowledge in the first place, but imagine their frustration when they fail after a few try-outs. Definitely demotivating...

So this can also be a good place to comment and critic (positively, I mean) cookbooks. The only problem is that my camera is still being repaired so, I wont be able to include pics of the result (unless I get to borrow from someone).

Many good cookbooks are printed in English. I have searched for some reference in my own mother tongue, but to no avail. At the moment, I am reading...

'Professional Baking 5th edition'. Wiley. 2009.

Like what others say, this book is 'a timeless professional baking reference'. And true, it certainly is. Funny, I tried to search for Gisslen's background online but none to be found. This book has made learning about baking ingredients and baking rules pretty easy. But I have yet to try out the recipes included. Hope Gisslen wouldn't mind his book being used here. And I hope that along this journey, I will get the blessing from all the writers of the cookbooks involved...Happy New Year!!!